The Status of Perfumers through the Ages

During the 16th century, French glovers advocated for, and won, the right to be acknowledged as glover-perfumers. The next century saw the emergence of regulations pertaining to the conditions of access to the trade, as well as the rights and obligations of masters, journeymen and apprentices. The so-called “master-glover perfumer” craftsmen started operating shops where they would sell their perfume creations. During the 18th century, a royal Decree dissolved the guild, and free-enterprise-style anarchy spread as regulations vanished.

The use of chemistry in perfume manufacturing as of the 19th century revolutionized the entire trade, from both the technical and aesthetical vantage points. These were the early signs of an industrialization of the now “modern” perfumery. Raw-material suppliers started to abound and to integrate perfumers into their workforce, at both lower and senior levels. Independent creators became a minority. Fashion designers launched their own perfumes, which were designed by behind-the-scene creators. With the 20th century, the notion of perfumer merged with that of distributor or brand of fragrant products. To retain their due status, the craftsmen-artists made themselves known as “Noses.” By then represented by a trade association, they fought for their aesthetic know-how to be acknowledged, and for a full-fledged status as Perfumers-Creators or Perfume Composers. What, then, has today become of the intrinsic legal status of these senior employees or independent workers?

Modern-day perfumers

The late 20th and early 21st centuries saw the very first trials in the history of perfumery related to the protection of perfume compositions and the defense of the rights attached to them.
The issue of relevance of copyright was at the center of these several trials, which led to the following landmark decisions: in 1975, the Court of Appeal of Paris agreed with the statement that what perfumers design comes from the mind. This decision did not become a part of case law due to the fact that the creator who was the key witness in the Rochas case did not testify. In 1999, during the Mugler case, the Commercial Court of Paris ruled that artistic research was at the core of the work of a perfumer. The composer was then the author of the olfactory form. As we have marched into the new Millennium, it seems as if the new status is that of Perfumer-Author. This transpired from the 2006 L’Oréal trial during which the Court of Appeal of Paris reiterated that the works created by a perfumer come from the mind, just like those of a musician, a painter, etc. Yet the debate is still in the infancy stage: the Supreme Court of Appeal of Paris recently viewed the perfumer as having a status similar to that of a carpenter, a plumber, etc. despite the fact that, in several European countries, the status of perfumer-author is clearly established. As to the theories proposed by diverse contemporary philosophers and aestheticians, they yet have to be given the weight they deserve in this debate...

Sandrine Videault, Perfumer-Creator

Sandrine Videault, one of the last students of Edmond Roudnitska, is a well known perfumer for historical fragrances and olfactive shows. For her fragrance is a poly sensorial experience where all the senses are involved. That's why, perhaps, she did many olfactive shows or olfactive decorations. One of the most impressive realizations she did is the recreation of the mythical Kyphi for the Cairo Museum in 2002.

Source: Octavian Sever Coifan